Search Marketing Outlook 2009

As we head into 2009, with recession fears and tightening budgets, internet marketing continues to grow. Internet savvy marketing departments are recognizing where the best money is spent — not in print, not in radio. Search marketing is the most measurable form of marketing available today.

If your 2009 News Year’s resolution was to ramp up your web presence on the internet, I might wonder why it wasn’t a thought 5 years ago. It’s never too late to begin, but what will be the key for you, is that once you start, that you keep it going. The internet changes so fast. You cannot afford to lapse in planning, research and execution.

But where do you start? And how do you know what to do?

The winding road to web marketing success in 2009 is to make every moment of your online marketing count. You should always try to anticipate your customer’s needs, be flexible in your decision making and ensure you allocate a dedicated amount of time and resources every week. Let's look at a few things that I expect to jump in leaps and bounds in 2009.

Search Marketing Advice Businesses Should Look To In 2009

Social Media Networking

Social media and business networking continues to rise in popularity with no signs of slowing down. Social networking sites like FaceBook, Twitter and LinkedIn provide a fun and convenient way of keeping in touch with friends, business associates and even clients.

Social media provides a constant outlet to reach out to new business and build connections. Create a profile on a network, track it with Google analytics and watch your presence expand.

The Importance Of Blogging

Blogs are no longer just about daily diaries and weekly personal griping. Companies have slowly realized the power of weblogs as community builders and content creators. Blogging and commenting on industry-related blogs is a nice way to build an online reputation, but even better is to employ your own blog as a part of your own web property.

Utilizing your own blog is a powerful way to distribute content including articles, press releases and general commentary about your company and industry information. All this adds up to attracting new customers and expanding the reach of your brand, by providing product or service related material.

Mobile Search Marketing

One year ago, it was reported the number of mobile phone devices had hit 3.3 billion, half of the planet’s total population. It’s pretty tough to ignore such a monumental number, and despite this, mobile search marketing is still pretty much in its infancy.

Now with the rise of the Smart Phone including the revolutionary iPhone, we are already receiving requests to build sites specifically for Smart Phones. Why? Because traffic is coming from Smart Phones!

Personalized Search Behaviour

Social media, blogging and mobile search marketing all add up to one thing. Individualize and personalized search!

Google has been experimenting with personalized search for a couple of years now. Such features include allowing users to maintain a history of searches, allowing you to revisit previously viewed pages and ability to rate the pages in the index.

SEO and search marketing are becoming ever more complex. Search engines are tweaking results based on visitor behaviour and not just inbound links and onpage SEO while web properties adjust their front-end with features that allow users to bookmark pages via social networking. This gives business a stream of continual communication and expanding brand recognition.

Also known as NEO, Colin can be found walking around the neighborhood giving everyone SEO tips and tricks. When he can find the time to peel himself away from the team at TechWyse he often can feel compelled to bless us with his thoughts through the Rise To The Top blog.

Also known as NEO, Colin can be found walking around the neighborhood giving everyone SEO tips and tricks. When he can find the time to peel himself away from the team at TechWyse he often can feel compelled to bless us with his thoughts through the Rise To The Top blog.

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4 Comments

Yes, the name SEO is evolving and people started calling ‘advanced seo’ consisting complex web development and analytics tasks. SEO becomes increasingly part of a larger marketing strategy. Currently SEO is advancing in different directions in content creation (blogging, writing, video) social networking and ultimately public relation. And businesses can find a far more better way here in propelling themselves.

Mobile Search Marketing is definitely going to have it’s say this year what with Google supplying mobile hardware (G1) and software (Android) and bidding on the wireless spectrum. 3G smartphones like iPhone, BlackBerry Storm and G1 all allow mobile users a close-to-normal internet experience. And as mobile usability improves, so will mobile Internet use. To benefit the most brands should be serious about taking the plunge early on in the mobile market.

It is reported that companies are now seriously considering setting up in-house SEO departments. They must be knowing the high relevance of search marketing results. But I doubt how many of those can afford such set ups, especially small business ventures.
Yes personalized search behavior and social marketing is going to be the trend.
Nice read!

With consumers continuing to cut down on their spending, recession has engulfed every sphere of economic activity. People will spend only if returns are assured and measurable. It is internet marketing alone that fits the bill and leaves abundant space to move with the times and make use of the economic opportunities thrown up with technological advances. Yes, it’s still a rosy picture for internet marketing in the face of all the gloom.